Peony shoots rise out of the earth;

牡丹幼苗從泥土中拔起；

at five a.m., walking up the ridge,

在凌晨五點鐘，走上山脊，

I mark how, in April, Orion’s left arm

我觀察到，四月裏獵戶座的左臂

was an apex in the sky, and, by May,

位於天空的頂點，到了五月，

only Venus flickered above the ridge

唯有金星貼著黎明的黯藍天際

against the blue edge of sunrise.

於山稜線上閃爍。

In daylight, a pear tree explodes

白天，梨樹的白花

with white blossoms—no black-

爆炸——沒有黑足鼬

footed ferret slips across my path,

從我面前的小徑上竄過，

no boreal owl stirs on a branch.

沒有鬼鴞在樹枝間攪動。

At three a.m., dogs seethed and howled

凌晨三點鐘，狗吠聲此起彼伏

when a black bear snagged a shriveled

當黑熊從一根枝上折下

apple off a branch; and, waking out

枯萎的蘋果；此刻，我走出

of a black pool, I glimpsed how

這一池黑暗，看到火

fire creates its own weather

如何以上升的火積雲創造

in rising pyrocumulus. Reaching

它獨有的季候。終於抵達

the ditch, I drop the gate: it’s time

灌溉渠，我放下閘門：是時候

for the downhill pipes to fill,

讓山下的水管注滿，

time for bamboo at the house

是時候讓屋外的竹林

to suck up water, time to see sunlight

豪飲，是時候看見陽光

flare between leaves before

透過葉簇的縫隙跳耀

the scorching edge of afternoon.

趁那午後灼人的鋒芒還未降臨。